Abstract

Environmental management and auditing systems are increasingly important. They havesignificant roles to play in relation to environmental protection, workplace safety and publichealth. Businesses and non-commercial organisations adopt such systems for a variety ofreasons. The extent to which they are used varies very considerably between developedcountries. The effectiveness of national regulatory systems seems to be a major factor. In theUnited Kingdom environmental regulators have traditionally sought the voluntary complianceof businesses. This strategy is closely associated with the near absence of administrativepenalties. It seems that a wide range of environmental administrative penalties will beintroduced in the near future. This may greatly encourage more firms to introduceenvironmental management and auditing systems.